According to studies and polls, armed forces tattoos are the greatest in the Navy, with the Army second, the Marines third, and then the Air Force. The style of tattoo designs seems to differ depending on the specific branch of armed forces.

Tattoos in the US armed forces have a long and colorful tradition. The millions of Americans who have served either as active service personnel or reservists means a countless number of inked war veterans. Many of them have gotten tattoos as a constant reminder that they once belonged to a particular unit or platoon, to acknowledge their loyalty not only to their unit but also to their country, to show feelings of camaraderie they felt, or even to mark the loss of someone close to them.